5 Tips to Revamp Your Gym Sessions

Need to get out of your fitness-funk & back on track? Here are my best tips for reducing your gym time & making your workouts more effective

GET YOUR MOJO BACK

We all know what its like to fall off the wagon a little bit (or a lot a bit) when it comes to going to the gym. Maybe you've taken a week, or 4, off from the gym and are struggling to find the motivation to get back into routine. Or maybe you're getting yourself to the gym but your workouts have gotten lazy and you spend more time scrolling on Instagram or changing your music than you do actually feeling the burn. I've been there many times, and these are my go-to tips that always help me get my gym mojo back. 

1. WALK IN WITH A PLAN

There are days when I walk into the gym and look around, assessing my physical and mental state, searching for what “feels right” for my workout that day. “Hmmm…should I do some cardio? Nah too tired to run today. Weights? I don’t know, it looks kind of crowded over there. Abs? Circuits? Ooo maybe there’s a class I can take!”

And although I am a HUGE advocate for listening to your body and not forcing yourself to do exercises that don’t feel good for you in that moment, I think there is also something to be said for having a plan.

When I walk into the gym not knowing what’s on the agenda for my workout I waste a lot of time deciding what to do next. First I hop on one machine and then I float over to another. I get distracted thinking about which muscle groups I want to target or if I’m just going to go full-body freestyle and do a little of everything. “What even is this workout? How many sets should I do? 3? Yeah 3’s probably good. Alright, I’m sick of this exercise moving on…”

The best way to get an effective workout in in a smaller amount of time is to not waste time in between exercises and the way to do this is to know ahead of time exactly where you’re going next. This is why I always recommend showing up to the gym with a plan. Assess how you’re feeling BEFORE you get to the gym, and make a plan for your workout, start to finish. If you’re the type of person who likes to create your own workouts try writing it down in the notes app on your phone before you leave the house. If you’re like me and would rather follow a guide, make sure you have an app or E-book downloaded on your phone and have decided on which workout you’re going to do that day before hitting the gym. (Right now I’m using Madalin Giorgetta’s Body by MG guide and am loving it)

By writing down, or reading over your workout before you arrive you’ll know exactly where you need to go first when you walk in the door, how many reps and sets are required, and where you need to go next. This way you’ve mentally prepared yourself for the workout ahead and its now in your mind as a sort of non-negotiable. You’ve decided on it and now you have to get it done.

2. PLAYLIST READY, EARBUDS IN

First things first, anyone who listens to the background music in the gym during their workout is a sociopath. Just kidding. But not really.

In all seriousness, music is one of the most powerful motivators especially in the gym, so take the time to make yourself a bomb-ass playlist of all your favorite pump-up tunes before you hit the gym. If you don’t have time for that kind of dedication just follow a pre-made workout playlist on Spotify or any other music app you use. Just get some motivating beats in your ears to help you stay focused and feel like a baller throughout the entire session.

I’d also recommend investing in a set of quality headphones that you like to workout in. Maybe that’s a big pair of noise-cancelling headphones to keep your head in game, or small wireless ones to avoid the distraction of cords tangling and getting caught around equipment. If you have to constantly mess with your headphones it takes away from your focus and if the sound quality is bad or the buds are falling out it will be harder to stay motivated and in the zone. The littlest things really make a difference in the quality of your workout.

3. PHONE IN AIRPLANE MODE

THIS. IS. EVERYTHING. If you take any tip from this whole list let it be this one.

We have this awful obsession with our phones nowadays where in any moment of inactivity we immediately feel the need to grab our phones and check notifications or scroll through social media. I guess this is a whole other topic in and of itself, but we also do this at the gym! Finish a set, pick up your phone. Take a water break, pick up your phone. Move from one machine to another, pick up your phone.

Time FLIES when you are scrolling too, so even when you think you’re just taking a 1 min break it’s usually more like 5-7. This is detrimental if you’re trying to get a hard-hitting session in quickly. You want to try to keep your heart rate up and be working steadily for 30-45 min, instead of taking tons of little breaks throughout and spending over an hour in the gym. A lot of people have the misconception that more time in the gym means more results and it’s simply not true.

Putting your phone in airplane mode will help you stay free from distractions and get a more effective workout in less time. I will admit it’s harder than it seems, and at first you’ll be so tempted to switch it off halfway through just to see if you have messages to respond to, but once you start noticing your workouts getting shorter AND better it will become one of the best habits you adopt. You will survive without checking social media or responding to messages for less than an hour of your day, I promise, and it will keep your heart rate up and your head in the game.

4. RESISTANCE BANDS FOR THE WIN

Resistance bands changed the game for me and I can’t recommend them enough! I really started to see a difference after a few weeks, especially in my lower body, and I just love how you can add them to any movement you’re already doing to create an added challenge. They provide a force, which the body must work against causing your muscles to contract just like they would when using free-weights. Johns Hopkins Medicine says it’s one of the safest ways increase both muscle growth and bone strength to prevent osteoporosis. In some cases they are even considered to be superior to free-weights because of their ability to increase tension as they stretch, so let’s talk about some of the reasons to love resistance band training:

• Compact & lightweight – they don’t take up space in your house, car or gym bag and you can easily take them with you anywhere you go
• On the go – because they have a similar effect to free-weights they are an amazing alternative for when you’re working out while traveling, at home or outdoors.
• More versatile – they can provide resistance to just about any motion and can be used in countless exercises and postures to target a huge range of muscle groups.
• Inexpensive – they’re relatively cheap and can be found in most sporting goods stores and fitness shops and on Amazon of course.

5. TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF

This is definitely more of a mindset tip than a physical course of action to take, but it isn’t any less important. In fact it may be even MORE important. If you’re like me then you’ve probably doubted the strength of the connection between the mind and the body at some point. You’ve probably thought that you could ‘get serious’ or start a ‘project comeback’ by creating a strict non-negotiable routine of X amount of days in the gym per week. No excuses, doesn’t matter if you’re tired or short on time, you will make yourself go. We all go through phases like this where suddenly we are super motivated to get back in shape so we create an epic plan to make physical activity a priority, not an option, and finally see some results.

The reason this never works is because life happens. No matter how dedicated and determined you are, life will get in the way at some point and you wont make it to the gym 6 days a week like you’d planned. Maybe you get sick, or you have to travel, or a meeting runs late, or you have to help a family member, or you have a sleepless night and can barely keep your eyes open after work. Whatever it is, eventually SOMETHING is going to throw you off course… and this is where the trouble really starts. The trouble isn’t missing the gym for a day, or 2 or 3, the trouble is the GUILT that comes with it when you realize you haven’t stuck to your perfect plan.

Anyone who has ever worked out knows this feeling. The feeling of, “I should really go to the gym today. If I leave now I could get in a quick 30 mins. But I’m so tired, I just want to rest. No, I said I was going everyday, so I have to go. Come on, just do it. You’ve already skipped once this week you can’t afford to skip again.” These thoughts run round and round in our heads as we try to convince ourselves how we could/should be doing better.

Meanwhile the guilt and stress that’s being created in the mind is also affecting the body. Your cortisol levels rise, and your body goes into fat-storage mode to protect you from the stress. Insulin levels also rise, causing your blood sugar to drop and the sugary, fatty food cravings to kick-in. That’s why they’re called ‘comfort foods’ because your body literally sends you a signal to eat them in times of tension.

Stress, anxiety, and guilt about skipping your workout is worse for you then actually skipping the workout. So try to avoid creating strict routines that you know will be hard to stick to 100% of the time. I make a general goal to move my body daily. Which doesn’t always mean in the gym. Some days its yoga and others it’s just a morning walk with my dog, and that’s fine. Stress is the enemy of all your fitness goals, so take the pressure off. Be active in a way that feels good to you, on that day, in that moment. If you feel like you’re forcing it, its probably doing you more harm than good.